


Diary of a Hunter

by kaelang12



Category: Orginal Tabletop Game, Original Work, Tales of the Void - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22977559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaelang12/pseuds/kaelang12
Summary: Historians have uncovered the diary of famous Hollow Hunter, former cleric Artemesia of Erlenberg. Long thought to be a lost relic, this book chronicles her journey from simple cleric to the figurehead she would soon become.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Kudos: 2





	1. Page One

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as something my DM wanted all his players to do. We write down our character's experiences, and I got a little too into it. Now I'm posting it here for others to enjoy.

_[Dust flies from the turning of the pages as the yellowed vellum settles. The ink, slightly enchanted, remains unfaded from age and glows in the dim light]_

I have left my home of Erlenberg. To say farewell to my childhood home is painful, but the work I have been trained for will no doubt make up for the sorrow. There are people out in this wide world that need help, and I will ensure they receive it.

\---  
  
Discovered a book today. The secrets that lay within could lead to either disaster or hope. Either way, it needs to be protected - or destroyed, if need be.  
 **UPDATE** : Bloody book’s dangerous! Not only does it potentially contain magic, said magic might very well be catastrophic! Managed to hire a mercenary to escort me to where I can have this book taken care of. But I need to be careful; a necromancer’s interested in the book as well. 

\---

Why is it that there needs to be a bar fight everywhere I go? At least this one was more interesting. Seemed a necromancer took part, as well as me. How it didn’t end with me placing his head on a pike, I’ll never know. 

_[The handwriting digs in harder than usual, almost piercing through to the other side.]_

\---

_[An ashy handprint stains the edge of the page.]_

Managed to take shelter in a hunter’s shack while it rains. Doors were busted in; poor bastard inside was dead. Footprints outside were charred and the corpses’ eyes burnt away. Signs that a Revenant was present- an _**Infernal Revenant**_ , of all things. Body’s currently down in the basement waiting to be buried. Rites were given as usual. I pray the Revenant is a safe distance away from us. I can only pray.


	2. Page 2

_[Ink splotches dot the page. It would appear the handwriting has several rewrites and scratches, almost as if the writer is barely coherent]  
_

Taking care of a corpse should not have been so difficult. I just woke up at the Academy; apparently I passed out. It’s understandable. Normally such funeral procedures have more than one priest taking part, so of bloody course I couldn’t handle it myself. But now that I’m at my destination, I can have the book put under protection.

\---  
  
Lost a comrade. My draconic companion had to leave, and he didn’t even take his payment, the bastard. And shows up afterwards but that damned necromancer. OF COURSE. OF DAMNED COURSE.

\---  
  
Someone trapped my bag! Damn thing had an animated rope snare rigged around the book! I swear I’ll break the hands of the bastard that did this.

\---  
  
Oh _merciful heaven’s above_ , I spied upon the face of beauty this day. A lovely lady came out of the shadows in the academy, and my heart came aflutter. Eyes carved of the deepest green jade, hair combed from pure ink, ears that twitch ever so slightly in the wind. Should I be struck by blindness, _I would be happier having seen such a vision of elven divinity.  
  
[Like a teenager's writing, multiple hearts cover the paragraph}  
_

\---

Honestly, I shouldn’t even be surprised of the trouble that follows me. Need to travel to some catacombs? Sure, no problem! God, I’m thick.  
Woke up in a tavern to see the whole city on fire. And the cause? Our friend the bloody Infernal Revenant; not surprised.

\---  
  
Solarite. I found a Solarite mace! Only the mightiest of the church’s warriors wield Solarite weapons.

_[Historian's Note: Solarite is a metal with holy properties and is an effective metal to use against undead]_

\---

  
This whole land feels WRONG. Not just the earth - the ruins, the dust, the wind that seems to cry out. Everything here is either dead or inhuman.

\---  
  
Bloody golems! I’ve always admired their aptitude for longevity, but not when their ire is aimed at me. The ones here seem to be very keen in keeping to their daily machinations, namely smashing any trespassers to mulch and bone meal. Luck must be on my side, as my party has managed to defeat one. Off to the catacombs we go.


	3. Page 3

...If luck is on my side, then she has a very wicked sense of humor. Damned necromancer has a whole platoon now.

\---  
  
We spit in the face of fate once again. Our foe this time was harder than the bloody golem. And an undead at that! At least this journey has been prosperous - two spell scrolls have been found that contained rather useful magic for me.

\---  
  
Where did the doorway go?

\---

 _[Blood spatter marks several places on the page]_  
  
I’m going to need a strong drink later today. Things are not as well as they should be. First we find some poor woman who’s been petrified for four millenia, stuck like a statue while her home decays into a cursed ruin. She is not the oddity, though - our resident necromancer seems to know her native tongue. The language of a blood elf is not easy to learn, and he spoke it without error, though much less antiquated as the woman’s.

\---  
  
Our journey into the catacombs has been nothing short of a miracle. We have escaped relatively unharmed. The necromancer SOMEHOW managed to lose most of his platoon, which is no small degree of satisfaction on my end. _Oh, how I shall mourn such a loss._

_[Historian's Note: our transcriber seems to have encountered a bit of enchantment on the last sentence written. He gained a headache that lasted for two hours after reading it. While necromancers and the clergy have had a truce in quite some time, this journal is proof of a once-forgotten rivalry between the two that was quite intense]_


	4. Page 4

They weren’t golems. Those blasted suits of armor weren’t golems. _We were fighting Hollows the whole time._ One found us as we got out of the catacombs, and I was able to smash it’s helmet to bits, and… _He looked like her_ _  
_ _  
_ _He looked like Ayla_ _  
_ _  
_Putting him out of his misery was all we could do. I offered to help Ayla with his body, but she declined. No one deserves to bury a loved one on their own, especially those who are Hollowed. Seeing this happen for the first time makes me wish I could help them somehow. But in what way?

_[Historian's Note: Hollows differ in make and model, but going by context we can assume the ones back then were mostly corrupted undead humanoids]_

\---  
  
Kyoko. The elf woman’s name is Kyoko. And as I found out rather recently (10 minutes ago), is a demon, much like Grundir (who is half demon, but whatever). She seemed rather shocked at my acceptance of her. I never judge anyone by the circumstances of their birth; it would be rather hypocritical of me. My only wish is that she remains safe in this brave new world of hers. As of now, my duty lies in bringing her back to the academy.

_[Transcriber's Note: This is quite interesting- a member of the church that shows no ill will towards those of hellish ancestry. Artemesia's parentage is not up for question; both her mother and father were confirmed as human, but of low status. Maybe her humble beginning gave way to her charitable outlook on the origins of others]_

\---  
  
Ayla burned the body. She did something, I don’t know what, but it was…  
The moonlight that shone on us this night was transcendent. It was as if I felt the gaze of the Night Goddess blessing me with light and song. Is this what happens to those laying Hollows to rest? The presence around us this night makes me wonder if I chose the right path to follow. Is there another way to bring peace to undead, I wonder…  
  
What Ayla taught me tonight is incredible. She gave me her brother’s weapon, a spellgun. Lack of funds and time have kept me from owning such a weapon, but it is a blessing to receive a gift like this from her. She is a very capable fighter - maybe I can ask her to teach me more in the future.

\---  
  
Going through the ruins again was risky, but we were able to find a ride home, surprisingly. A man in an autonomous carriage! Always wanted to ride in one. Our savior, it turns out, is quite the divinator; he gave me a glimpse into a potential future: armed, a friend by my side, surrounded by a swirling mass of darkness. If I were to go out fighting, at least I’ll be with a comrade in arms.  
  
 _[Historian's Note: in this era, the only one capable of such a method of transportation was a man known only as Speedwagon. His family later went on to produce a great many magitech products]_


End file.
